Football Headline

Tuesday October 9, 2012Mike Gillislee: From The Shadows To The Spotlight

University
of Florida senior tailback Mike Gillislee may be a quiet guy by nature, but the
noise he is making on the football field this fall is quickly propelling him into
the national spotlight. That spotlight is exactly what Gillislee has been waiting
for.

“I just
want to be remembered,” said the DeLand native. “I sat back for three years
waiting for an opportunity and now I want to make the most of my senior year.”

He is
well on his way to being remembered. Gillislee sat atop the SEC leaders in
rushing yards through the first three weeks, and matched his previous season
best of 56 rushing attempts in just three games.

Waiting
for this opportunity to come was difficult for him, but Gillislee says, “It’s a
dream come true.”

Gillislee
had to sit back patiently and watch as his mentors, former Florida running
backs and current NFL players Chris Rainey (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Olympian Jeff
Demps (New England Patriots; on injured reserve this fall), ran the ball for
the Gators. Spending his time on the sideline was something that was not wished
for, but emphasized Gillislee’s humble character. Although he did not see the
field as often as he might have liked, the drive and passion that Gillislee
upheld for those three years was amazing.

“Mike is
the perfect teammate,” said Brian White, UF’s running backs coach. “All he does
is show up to practice every day and bust his butt.”

Opportunity
finally came knocking for Gillislee entering his final campaign. Heading into
the 2012 season, head coach Will Muschamp highlighted Gillislee as his go-to
guy for the year following a career in which he averaged 6.3 yards per attempt
and scored 11 touchdowns in his first three seasons.

“Mike
is a guy that I'm expecting to have a good senior season,” Muschamp mentioned
at SEC Media Days. “We're expecting him to have a great year. He's not a man of
many words.”

Through
the Gators’ first four games, all victories, Gillislee has collected 402 yards
rushing, averaging 5.8 yards a carry, and has scored a team-high five
touchdowns for the Orange and Blue.

“I’ve
been going out there and giving it all I have,” commented Gillislee on his
performance. “I haven’t been 100 percent yet because of my injury, but I’ve
been giving it all I got.”

As
Gillislee approaches full strength, and the team is positioned with an overall record
of 4-0 record and a 3-0 SEC mark, Gator fans are bursting with anticipation. Winning
is not only a tradition at Florida, it’s an expectation.

Gillislee
has noted that it’s time to “get Florida football back where it used to be.”

The
Gators, who are now ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll entering today’s
showdown with LSU, have the right start and the right attitude. As one of the
team’s leaders, both on and off of the field, Gillislee remains modest in his
words.

“My goal
for the season is to win,” Gillislee said.

Winning
is what Florida likes to hear. With the kind of offensive numbers that
Gillislee is putting up, Gator fans are seeing him transform from a boy waiting
for his chance on the sidelines to the key component of the offense.

Through
his performance and steady play, Gillislee has become the face of the Florida
offense, alongside sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel.

“All I
had to do was turn around and give it to Mike,” said Driskel after the season opener
in The Swamp against Bowling Green, when Gillislee erupted for a career-high
148 yards on the ground on 24 carries (6.2 avg.) and scored twice. It was the
running back’s first career 100-yard effort and featured touchdown runs of 15
and 38 yards in the second quarter.

Gillislee’s
teammates and coaches have confidence in him, and it’s time for Florida fans to
have it too. He may only be 5-foot-11 and tip the scales at 209 pounds, but
what he’s lacking in size, he makes up for in dedication.

“We’ve
got a saying that we’re going to start fast and we’re going to finish,”
Gillislee told reporters prior to the beginning of the season.

In the
first two games, UF wins over Bowling Green and Texas A&M, Gillislee totaled
a pair of touchdowns in each outing and rushed for 231 yards, leaving quite an
impression.

“He’s
great on his feet and is great at making plays,” senior center Jon Harrison acknowledged
after the Texas A&M game, a contest where Gillislee had 83 yards on 14
attempts (5.9 avg.) and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run with
13:05 left in the game. “His versatility just makes him that much more valuable
of a player to our team and to our offense.”

So far,
Gillislee is proving to be a valuable asset that the Gators will need to have a
strong season, and is also becoming one of the top tailbacks in the SEC. Seeing
his name among the league leaders in rushing, Gillislee isn’t fazed.

“I just
care about going out there, performing for my football team and winning games,”
he stated.

Gillislee
is a great inspiration for the things that are possible when hard work and patience
strike a perfect balance. Doing what he did takes a tough individual, and
that’s exactly how teammates describe him.

Coming
from the shadows of Florida’s bench into a starring role, Gillislee hopes to
prove himself as the Gators’ explosive weapon in 2012. Some people say that he
already has.

After his
playing career at Florida is complete, Gillislee says he is looking into
hopefully being drafted to the NFL and that he is still weighing his other post-college
options.

For now,
Gillislee will enjoy his time in the spotlight as a proud Gator in helping
Florida to achieve all of its preseason goals in order to return to prominence.